"Rendez vous With French Cinema", festival without artists due to Coronavirus

Juliette Binoche, Claude Lelouche, Cédric Klapisch… a poster of stars who promised a memorable “Rendez-vous With French Cinema” for the 25th anniversary of the festival. But Covid-19 (Coronavirus) has decided otherwise. UniFrance, co-organizer of the event, decided to cancel almost all the trips of French actors and directors who were to come and present their films and speak to the public. But the festival is maintained and the films will be broadcast as planned.

Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche perform a mother-daughter duo in “The Truth”, directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, a film that will open hostilities. Ethan Hawke, the only American star on the program, will be there at the premiere to present this very first French-language Japanese author film on Thursday, March 5, but without Juliette Binoche.

On February 28, at the 45th Cesar ceremony, Chiara Mastroianni was awarded the Best Actress award in the “Un Certain Regard” section for the film “On a Magical Night”, presented at the festival on Friday. March 6. Also on the bill, the new Claude Lelouche "The Best Years of a Life", following his film "A Man and a Women" (elected Palme d'or in 1966), released on Saturday March 7.

“Deerskin”, directed by Quentin Dupieux, stages Jean Dujardin and Adèle Haenel. The latter was particularly noted in Cannes, when she left the stage in opposition to the award of the Cesars to Roman Polanski. The producers, Mathieu and Thomas Verhaeghe will unveil the film on Sunday March 8. "Papicha" tells the story of a resistant young woman during the Algerian civil war.

Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, duo at the head of the success “Untouchable”, join the event with their new production “The Specials”, starring Vincent Cassel and Reda Kateb. “Someone, Somewhere”, with the fashionable duo François Civil and Ana Girardot, is a work by Cédric Klapisch, known for his films “l'Auberge Espagnole” or “Ce qui binds”.

For the first time this year, the festival establishes a Public Prize. You can elect your favorite film and participate in the draw to win a round trip from New York to Paris. Find the program here and take your tickets here.

For the most literary of you, the criticism competition, linked to the French film festival, is open to applications until March 15.